PCA 2023: Arturo Fuente

It’s always a special experience going to the Arturo Fuente booth at the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. I’ve said in the past the Fuente booth is less about showcasing new products and more about telling the history and story of the Fuente family. The booth is always beautifully laid out – and in many ways, has the look of Macy’s Department Store at Christmastime (minus the Christmas decorations). This year, there were several highly anticipated projects that Fuente was showcasing – making this an absolute “must-see” booth at the Trade Show.

One part of the booth worth mentioning is the Cafe Cubano coffee stand – reminiscent of one you might see in Ybor City, Florida.

Even before the product was unveiled at the 2022 PCA Trade Show, the big question was, “When is the Fuente y Padron Legends coming out?” We didn’t get answers on this at this year’s PCA Trade Show, but the collaboration was on display at the Arturo Fuente and the Padrón booths.

This picture comes from the Padrón booth.

Another cigar that was previewed last year and has been anticipated has been the Don Carlos Eye of the Bull. This is a 3 1/2 x 55 extension to the Don Carlos line that was a project of Ciro Cascella, Executive President of Tabacalera A. Fuente. The Don Carlos line is named for the late legendary cigar maker Carlos Fuente Sr. The cigar consists of a Cameroon wrapper over all-Dominican tobaccos. One unique feature is a “bullseye” built into the cap – a circular piece of tobacco with a darker color. The cigar launched in Belgium last month, but this year not only was it showcased, but it was offered exclusively to retailers who attended the PCA Trade Show.

Another product that was previewed last year was OpusX Impossible Collection. This is a collection of 13 Arturo Fuente rarities. The good news is that the Impossible Collection is shipping in 2023. It was initially produced for the 2022 edition of the La Gran Fumeda event at Arturo Fuente Cigar Club in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Arturo Fuente has said the Impossible Collection boxes that will be made available are from the batch made available for La Gran Fumada.

Earlier this year, a book was released documenting the history of the Fuente family called Arturo Fuente Since 1912. The book was written by Aaron Sigmund and published by Assouline. Arturo Fuente unveiled a set called From Dream to Dynasty at the 2023 Premium Cigar Association Trade Show. This set consisted of a more compact version of the book as well as two cigar samplers. The samplers contain many Fuente favorites and rarities, including some that are sold through Prometheus and Elie Blue and some produced for Ashton and J.C. Newman Cigar Company. Pricing is set at $2,200.00 for the Dream to Dynasty set. A ship date was not available.

There are a couple of other items that also were on display. First, Fuente will be releasing three-count tins of the OpusX Oro Oscuro. This will be available in the Robusto, Perfexcion, and Reserva D’Chateau sizes. There was also another tin offering, but this was a value-priced cigar known as the Arturo Fuente Cubanitos Maduro.